


It's Going to Take Time

by pinkevilbob



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28598844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkevilbob/pseuds/pinkevilbob
Summary: Magic is a product of a long bygone era. Nobody knows this better than Caleb Widogast, but it doesn't stop him from searching for it. So imagine his surprise when it suddenly falls into his lap.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Kudos: 27





	It's Going to Take Time

**Author's Note:**

> So this was fic I had started months ago and left cause writing just wasn't working for me. Decided to dust it off and give it an ending. Not a particularly great ending, but an ending.

It had been a rough day coming the end of rough week, rough month, rough year, and rough life. Work proved to be even more miserable than usual and it had just been a terrible day. All Caleb wanted to do was sleep for a thousand years, but if he did that, who would take care of Frumpkin. There was Veth, but she had her own family to take care of and he wasn't certain if her jokes about eating his cat were really just jokes. 

With centuries of sleep not being an option, Caleb settled for setting his alarm for a 15 minute nap. He would've set it for longer, but he had promised to babysit Luc for Veth. Flopping face down onto his couch, he didn't bother with taking off his coat.

A weird sound interrupted Caleb's nap. "Frumpkin," Caleb mumbled, not opening his eyes, "five more minutes."

"Who's Frumpkin?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Caleb opened his eyes to see a blue tiefling woman inches away from his face. He tried to back away from her, but the back of his couch stopped him. "What, what are you doing here? Who are you?"

She grinned brightly at him wrinkling her freckled nose. "Hi, I'm Jester."

"I'm Caleb Widogast," he said automatically, staring at her. Caleb's mind was racing so fast he couldn't think straight. His door was locked, he was certain of it. There shouldn't have been any way she could get in, but there Jester was smiling brightly like she hadn't just broke into his house. "How did you get in here?"

"Magic!" Jester waved her hands energetically.

Caleb clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. A prank then. "If you are just going to make fun of me, you can just go," he spat out. Magic was something of a long bygone era and no one knew that better than him, but that didn't stop him from researching it. And that didn't stop anyone from laughing at him for it. The only person who took his research seriously was Veth, and he was fairly certain she was just humoring him.

Jester's tail drooped and her big eyes looked sad. "Making fun of you?"

"Ja, I know when I am the butt of a joke. I don't know who set you up to do this, but you can tell them to leave me alone." Caleb finally slid off the couch and stood up.

“I’m not joking,” Jester said, pouting. “I traveled a super long way to get to the future.”

Caleb paused. “Future? Are you telling me that you came from the past?”

Jester nodded. “Of course I am.” Caleb noticed how she was dressed for the first time. It was tempting to call her a ren faire reject, but her clothes were too good to be called that. A lightly worn blue skirt with an accurate corset and a cloak that's dye would be hard to recreate using modern techniques. Her accent was antiquated and placed her as being from the Menagerie Coast. If Caleb’s memory was correct(which it always was), tieflings were much more common there then they were in the empire centuries ago. He had to give her credit, Jester’s preparation and research was impeccable.

“Now I know this is a prank,” Caleb said. “Now will you get out?”

She scowled at him. “I’m super good at pranks, but this really isn’t one. I came from the past using magic.”

Caleb snorted. “Magic no longer exists. Everyone knows this.” Painfully so, in Caleb’s case. For all his research he couldn’t find a way to bring even a spark back.

“What? Why wouldn’t magic exist? I can use magic,” she said.

He could already tell that this was going to be a long night. “A very fun joke.” Caleb opened the front door to his house. “Now that you shared it, you can go.”

Jester stomped her foot and a strong gust rose up rattling all the windows and pulling the door away from Caleb. “I can use magic!”

“Just a coincidence.” It was tempting to just believe her and indulge himself, but he had to remain strong. Magic was just a fantasy, especially time travel magic. Caleb had to be honest with himself and admit that the age of magic was long past.

“A coincidence?” She pouted at him again and Caleb had to admit that it was kinda cute. “How’s this for a coincidence?” Jester grabbed what looked like a keychain hanging from her corset and then instead of looking at Jester, Caleb was staring at himself. Well, a slightly shorter version of himself.

“An illusion?” Caleb breathed out.

The Caleb standing across from him smirked. “Yep! I’m super good at that spell.” Jester’s voice came out of his mouth.

“You, you are actually real.” Caleb could barely believe his eyes. A spell. A real life actual spell. And he was seeing it.

“Of course I’m real! Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked the question so sincerely, like magic hadn’t been unheard of for the last 200 years.

Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “Because time travel is impossible. Any attempt ended poorly.” He would know having spent months researching it.

“Mine didn’t.” Jester grins at him like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “And now I’m here!”

“Why did you come here?” Caleb asked. “There’s nothing here worth going through time for.” He was all too aware of that.

Jester tapped her nose. “That’s a secret.”

He sighed. This was the answer to all his hopes and dreams, but it made no sense. Why would she suddenly appear in his home without any seeming reason? But there was no denying that Jester could use magic. There were so many questions he had for her; Caleb hardly knew where to start. “Can you teach me?” he blurted out. There were much more useful questions, but he couldn’t resist.

“Magic?” she asked. Caleb nodded. “Yeah! I’ve always wanted a disciple!” She smiled enthusiastically. “We are going to have so much fun Caleb.”

Fun wasn’t what Caleb was looking for, but if it came with magic, he’d take it. Even if it came with a cute and confusing tiefling.


End file.
